Heating means for gins



Sept. 10. 1940. w. L. CALHOUN 2,214,497

HEATING MEANS FOR GINS Filed Feb. 11. 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1' Sept. 10. 1940. w. L. CALHOUN 2,214,497

HEATING MEANS FOR GINS Filed Feb. 11, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheer. 2

Patented Sept. 10, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in cotton gins and more especially to means for heating parts of cotton gin machinery that comes in contact with moving cotton, and to methods 5 of improving the operation of cotton gins.

In recent years, inventors working in the cotton gin art have been turning their attention to means for drying wet cotton. While the drying of cotton has been a great benefit in connection with wet cotton, it has brought on other difficulties. In the operation of improved gins with cotton dryers installed, it was observed that the dry hot cotton coming from the dryers did not turn in the roll box in a satisfactory manner. That is, instead of the roll of cotton in the roll box, known as the roll, revolving over the inner wall of the roll box as it should, it had a tendency to stick to the inner walls with the result that the cotton would wad up: in the roll box and bridge over the saw blades or be forced out of the roll box.

The above outlined defect is attributed to the fact that the dried cotton coming from the dryers reaches the roll box in a hot condition and sets up a'sweating action on the inner surface of the roll box Walls, thus increasing the friction force of the cotton roll in the roll box. While this theory may not account for all of the trouble in the prior art gins using cotton dryers; it helps explain the problem that had to be overcome.

To overcome the difiiculties outlined above, a means was devised of heating the inner surface of the walls of the roll box of the gin stand part of a gin lay out. This invention contemplates providing heating means for heating all surfaces of a gin that cotton passes over for the purposes of preventing sweating and for otherwise reducing friction. For the purpose of illustrating this invention, there is shown a heating means applied to the walls of the roll box of a gin stand. It is thought that this illustration is suflicient to illustrate the broad principle of applying heating means to any portion of gin machinery for the purpose of overcoming sweating and lessen- 45 ing friction between the part of a gin and the cotton.

However, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the practice of handling pre-heated cotton, as this improvement in gins makes it possible to handle exceedingly wet cotton directly without drying it first. Furthermore, attention is called to the fact that this invention, more especially as applied to the roll box, provides a means for drying cotton during the actual ginning step, thus eliminating the separate drying step in present practice of ginning cotton.

An object of the present invention is to provide means for heating the wall of the roll box portion of a gin stand to reduce friction.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and means of drying cotton While it is being ginned.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear in the following de- 10 scription and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several figures of the drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a cross section View of the preferred form of the invention shown embodied in a roll box in its normal position as relates to the other parts of a conventional gin stand.

Figure. 2 is a broken view of a wall of the roll 20 box shown in Fig. 1 showing the application of electrical heating means hereto and,

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of an optional form of structure embodying this invention in which is shown a steam heating means 25 applied to the roll box of a gin stand in its normal position as relates to the standard parts of a gin stand.

In the gin stand in which the preferred embodiment of the roll box is included, illustrated 30 by Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, numeral l designates generally the casing and foundation structure, numeral 2 a convention hulling ribs assembly and 4 the conventional ginning rib assembly. Nu- 'meral 5 designates a feeder roll which functions 85 to urge the cotton bolls fed to the gin stand up against the huller ribs 3 and saw cylinder 2. As the saw of the saw cylinder 2, drags cotton through the huller ribs 3, the cotton is carried through the huller ribs 1 up into the improved 40 roll box, to be described in more detail later, while the hulls H drop down to be expelled by the expeller roll 6. Numeral l designates a standard air blast mechanism for removing lint L which clings to the teeth of the saw cylinder 2 after they pass through the ginning ribs 4, when it is separated from the seed S and numeral 8 designates the discharge duct which serves to conduct the lint away from the gin stand. The description of mechanism and operation thus far is in accord with standard practice. Applicants contribution to the ginning art resides in his improved roll box designated generally by numeral 9. The improved roll box 9 is comprised of front wall It] hinged at H to the main body of the roll box 9 and a rear wall [2 hinged at l3 to the main body of the roll box 9. The improvement on the roll box resides in the application of electric heating elements l4 embodied in the front wall l and the rear wall I2. Pairs of electrical wire l5 lead to a suitable source of electrical power not shown, which supplies the requisite electrical current for heating the heating element l4 and walls l 9 and l 2, in which they are embodied. Numeral l6 designates layers of insulation applied to the outer surface of the walls it and 12 for the purpose of protecting the operator from getting burned. The insulation it further serves to increase the heating effect on the inner surface of the walls ill and 12, which heat is needed to lower the friction of the inner surface of the walls ill and i2 on the cotton roll R. as it revolves in the characteristic fashion, that is, in the reverse direction to the direction of the saw cylinder l2.

In Figure 3 showing a gin stand including a roll box embodying this invention, all of the parts with the exception of the roll box parts are the same as the conventional gin stand just described illustrated by Fig. l and the operation is the same standard operation as outlined above and therefore no detailed description is repeated here. In the modified roll box of Figure 3 the front wall Mia and a rear Wall lZa are covered with a heat insulating material for the purpose as before outlined in connection with the description of the preferred form of roll box. In this modified form the walls are to be heated by steam, hot water or other heating fluids. To permit such type of heating the walls Illa and We are to be hollow as shown by the broken portion of Fig. 3. However other arrangements of applying the fluids heat such as a continuous tube attached to the inner wall of a roll box may be used without departing from the scope of this invention.

Ihe steam or hot water or hot air, or other heating fluid is conducted to the cavities in the roll box walls Illa and lEia through suitable flexible hoses Ilia or the like. The heating fluid that is spent in heating the inner surface of the roll box walls 20a and lZa is conducted away from the same by suitable discharge flexible hoses II. If flexible hoses are not used some form of movable coupling with accompanying packing gland must be installed in the lead-in pipe and exhaust pipe for the reason that the walls lfla and [2a of this roll are hinged to the main body of the roll box as in the foregoing case and the walls Illa and l2a must be opened at occasions the same as is done in standard practice.

This invention in no way changes the standard practice but merely assists standard practice in eliminating certain above outlined diificulties now being met with.

The foregoing described construction in the gin art are to be made out of copper, cast iron, steel or any suitable material and are to be fashioned as castings or forgings according to standard well known practices in gin machinery manufacture.

It is to be understood that various changes in size and material may be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

1. In a gin of the class described the combination of an electrical heating means applied to a wall of a gin stand roll box, that contacts cotton, whereby to heat the cotton and reduce friction.

2. A gin stand roll box comprising end walls, side walls and a bottom in combination with a heating means, said heating means being directly attached to one of said side walls of the gin stand roll box whereby to directly heat the inner surface of the same to lessen the friction on cotton by heating the inner surface of the side wall to a higher temperature than the moving cotton in the roll box.

3. The device as claimed in claim 2 wherein the heating means is a fluid type heating means.

4. A gin stand roll box comprising end walls, side walls and a bottom in combination with an electrical heating means, said electrical heating means being directly attached to one of said side walls of the gin stand roll box whereby to directly heat the inner surface of the same to lessen the friction on cotton.

WILLIAM L. CALHOUN. 

